Never Never (20 page)

“It's not her fault,” Shaun said, now trying to pull Saoirse to her feet and away from the group.

“Well, I'd like to know whose fault it is!” Gavin said hotly. “Da! Are ye okay, Da?”

Mike wanted to tell him not to worry but just now he was extremely tired. It occurred to him that this could all be sorted out after a wee kip. He smiled at Sarah and felt sorry for her look of concern. But she'd know soon enough that everything was fine.

And isn't that all she really needs? To know that we'll all be well and fine?

“Mike, don't close your eyes,” she said urgently. “Mike, sweetheart. Stay with me, please.”

But she didn't understand how tired he was and how fine they would all be. He heard the group moving around and now Saoirse was crying and Sophia too it sounded like.

Silly lasses.

The last thing he heard before he felt himself drifting away to a quiet place of no noise and infinite peace was somebody shouting.

They were yelling something that sounded like, “There's people coming!”

S
haun pushed
through the gathered crowd. He ran to the front of the castle and stared down the main drive. For a moment he couldn't believe what he was seeing. It looked like an army of people.

An army of people heading straight for the castle.

His bowels turned to ice as he saw the speed they were making. Gavin ran to his side.

“Who are they?” Gavin asked, panting.

“Everybody inside the castle!” Shaun screamed, waving his hands. He turned to Gavin. “They'll be here in minutes. Get everyone inside,
now
!”

Shaun ran back to where Saoirse was sitting next to Donovan. He scanned the crowd for any sign of Ava or Beryl and was relieved to see them both in the crowd of people moving back across the drawbridge.

Just not fast enough.

“What's the matter?” Sarah asked, still kneeling by Donovan. “Who is it?”

“I have no idea,” Shaun said, jerking Saoirse to her feet and pushing her toward the castle. “But they'll be here in a few minutes.”

Sarah jumped up. The color was gone from her cheeks as she looked in the direction of the main road.

Gavin pulled his father to a sitting position. Donovan didn't look good. His wife had staunched the blood in his wound, but he was close to being unconscious. Shaun grabbed Donovan's arm and helped Gavin get him to his feet.

“Get everyone inside,” he said to Gavin as Sarah took Gavin's place at Donovan's side. “Stand by to raise the drawbridge
fast
. Get the other men, lad. Hurry!”

Shaun could hear the sounds of the oncoming army now. He staggered forward with Donovan leaning heavily on him, forcing Sarah to run beside them to catch up. He didn't have enough breath to urge her to hurry. It was all he could do to prod Donovan into moving his legs. He was a big man and right now a very slow one.

“Mike, hurry!” Sarah said desperately. “You need to move your feet!”

The first few soldiers of the army came into view just as Shaun touched foot on the edge of the drawbridge. If he stumbled now, both he and Donovan would end up in the moat. He tried to blot out the sounds of men's voices shouting behind him.

Come on ye, bastard
, he mentally urged Donovan.
Move yer fecking feet!

He could see Gavin and two other men were standing inside the gate tower on the other side of the portcullis, their hands on the pulley switches—waiting for the three of them to get inside before they attempted to raise the draw bridge.

“Stop ‘em!” a voice shouted from behind them. “Get ‘em before they get the drawbridge up!”

A bullet whistled by his ear and then another, both thudding into the stonewall of the castle gatehouse. Screams came from inside the castle. Shaun's legs burned as the terror propelled him across the drawbridge, dragging Donovan and his wife with him. He felt the bridge go up while they were still on it. The three men inside the castle were straining to raise it even as the portcullis descended like a giant's gaping mandible. The sickening sounds of bullets hitting the wooden drawbridge as it raised was like the soundtrack out of a horror movie.

He fell to his knees and watched Sarah crawl under the quickly closing portcullis. Hands reached out to grab Donovan and drag him inside. Shaun felt strong hands grabbing him, too, his legs finally useless, as they pulled him under the descending jaws of the portcullis. He lay trembling on the ground, his stomach roiling as he tried not to vomit. People were taking Donovan and Sarah away. He heard the groans of three men as they hauled the drawbridge up and cranked it solidly in place with the windlass—and with it the frustrated howls and gunfire of the men outside muted to a distant din.

A hand reached down to touch his shoulder and when he looked up, he saw that it was Ava. She patted his shoulder as if to say,
spit-spat! On your feet, soldier
!

If he hadn't been so weak with the distinct possibility that he was about to lose bladder control he would have laughed.

F
ifteen minutes
after they'd gotten the drawbridge up, Shaun climbed to the top flight of the northern crenellated tower with Gavin, Tommy and Terry. From here they could look out without danger of presenting themselves as easy targets.

What he saw took his breath away. The castle parking lot and gardens and the main drive itself for at least a quarter of a mile in every direction was covered with men moving about and setting up camp. Already a large tent had been erected front and center to the castle entrance.

He'd never been more right when he called them an army. Almost all of the men below wore at least a part of the telltale colors of the Irish National Army. They were soldiers.

Tommy turned to his father, Terry. “Da! It's them! It's the same ones as before!”

Shaun was bewildered. “You know them?”

Terry pointed at the man in the tent. The one wearing his full uniform and watching them through binoculars.

“Aye. The bastard there in front. He's the same one came for us last winter.”

“
Came
for you?”

“Took us to the Dublin work camp,” Terry said, licking his lips in agitation. “Took us to hell, he did. Took the women and children, too. Although their hell was at a different address.”

“Da, he's the one shot Declan,” Tommy said. “And Kendra.”

“Jaysus God,” Shaun said in a voice low with awe and dread. “What are they doing
here
?”

H
urley gave
orders for his men to set up his tent. Seeing the castle inhabitants scurry back into the castle like so many terrified cockroaches had been a much anticipated and delightful pleasure of what was to come.

What hadn't been so delightful was the fact that his men hadn't been able to kill even a single man before the buggers escaped inside.

He would have a word with Brady about that. It was
his
responsibility to ensure that the men were sufficiently trained. And motivated. An army needed its chain of command. After all, Hurley couldn't do it all. But weak links in that chain made for disrespect among the ranks. Changes might need to be made.

Hurley stood in the late afternoon light and stared up at the castle. He imagined what terror the people inside must be feeling.

As well they should.

He had waited a long time for this and he wouldn't be rushed. He'd have his revenge—in due time. And every person in that castle who thought they were safe right now…who thought they could escape Centurion Commander Padraig Hurley…every single man, woman and child would soon know the full measure of the terror that they could only imagine right now.

M
ike opened
his eyes and for a moment couldn't figure out where he was. He looked to his right to see Declan sound asleep in the bed next to his. Before he could twist his head around to look to the left, he was seized with a searing flash of pain. He took a long breath and froze all movement.

“Don't, Mike!” Sarah said. “You'll start it bleeding again.”

He turned his head enough to see her standing next to his bed with her hands on his shoulder as she tried to push him back onto the bed.

“What happened?” he croaked. His shoulder was throbbing, the pain diminishing by the second but not fast enough.

“Saoirse stabbed you.”

He had an image of Saoirse with knife in hand and her face twisted in a grimace of hatred.

“It wasn't a direct hit,” Sarah said. “And Gavin got to you before she could try again.”

He remembered now. Fiona's scream. He groaned and eased back on the bed.

“And we have company outside,” Sarah said.

A motion by the stone archway made him turn his head to see Shaun enter the makeshift clinic.

“Good. You're awake,” Shaun said. “We have a problem.”

Mike sat up and instantly felt a landslide of pain crushing his shoulder.

“Mike, no!” Sarah said as Mike tried to get out of bed.

“Did you dope him?” Shaun asked, coming closer to peer at Mike. “I need him lucid.”

“Will someone tell me what's going on?” Mike asked as he winced.

“A group of people is camped out in front of the castle,” Sarah said.

Mike blinked and tried to understand what she was saying.

“Who are they?”

“Gavin said they're the same ones cleaned you out before,” Shaun said, watching Mike appraisingly. “They're outfitted like they're the Irish fecking army.”

“Have you spoken with them?” Mike asked.

“Mike, I'm going to give you something for the pain,” Sarah said.

“Nay, Sarah. I need to know what's going on.”

Shaun glanced at Declan's bed and then pulled a chair up to Mike's. “I haven't tried to talk to them,” he said. “They were shooting at us when we closed the drawbridge so I know they aren't here to help us dig a new well or plant barley.”

“They
shot
at us?” Mike rubbed a hand across his face and felt the muscles in his shoulder contract agonizingly when he did. “What's the status now?”

“There are about a hundred of them. Gavin says they've got what sounds like repeating rifles,” Shaun said.

“Feck me,” Mike swore.

“My sentiments exactly.”

Mike looked at him and sighed. “I'm sorry for throwing you and your sister out. I was wrong.”

“Thank you.”

Mike felt like he'd been run over by a ten-ton lorry. His whole body craved sleep—and painkillers.

“You think they can get in?” Mike asked.

Shaun frowned. “I…no, I don't.”

“But what?”

“I don't know how much food we have on hand.”

“You're worried about a siege?”

“It's our only real vulnerability. If they're willing to wait.”

Sarah spoke up. “We have food to last a week if we're careful.”

“Water?”

“Same.”

Shaun nodded and got to his feet.

“So I guess we pray they don't have the patience to wait us out.”

A
fter Shaun left
, and after promising Mike she'd wake him if anything happened, Sarah gave Mike something for the pain and to help him sleep.

Everything had happened so fast that she hadn't had a chance to process how she was feeling. On the one hand, her worse fear had definitely come to life. They had sacrificed everything to get to this so-called invulnerable fortress, and now parked on their doorstep was the one thing they were vulnerable to—an army with modern weapons.

On top of that, Mike was out of commission and Sarah wasn't sure she trusted the man who was in charge.

When Fiona came in to spell her before dinnertime, she had Siobhan in her arms.

“She was asking for her Da-Da,” Fiona said, handing the child to Sarah.

“Well, she'll have to settle for Number Two,” Sarah said, forcing a smile and wondering if it was true children could tell when you were faking it.

“Has Declan awakened?” Fiona asked as she tucked the sheets around her husband and looked into his face.

“No, sorry. Not a peep.”

“He sleeps more and more.”

“Could be he's sleeping because he's mending,” Sarah said.

“Could be.”

“What's happening outside?” Sarah had hoped her tone would sound unconcerned but it sounded afraid even to her.

“They can't get in, Sarah,” Fiona said.

“If you say so. Any idea how the fire started last night?”

Fiona frowned. “The fire?”

“Don't you think it's wildly coincidental that we all get flushed out of the castle at the very moment Saoirse is waiting for Mike with a butcher knife?”

“Are ye saying
Saoirse
started the fire? From
inside
the castle?” Fiona gave Sarah a look of disbelief.

“So you
do
think it's just a coincidence.”

“I don't think anything at-tall, Sarah,” Fiona said with frustration. “Except that we might want to handle one problem at a time. Right now Shaun's doing all he can until Mike's on his feet again. He's got men watching the army from all four corners of the castle. And his mother is working with Gavin and Tommy to tell them about whatever defensive capabilities the castle has.”

“Pretty helpful to have the castle gift shop manager in here with us.”

Fiona gave Sarah a sharp look.

“Something on your mind, Sarah?”

“Just not sure why everyone's trusting these people all of a sudden, that's all.”

“What would you have us do? Throw them to the army? We're in this together now.”

Sarah turned and looked at Mike. The wound, although painful, wasn't as bad as it could have been. He'd be stiff for a couple of weeks but no major tendons or muscles had been severed as far as she could see.

“You probably saved his life, Fi, when you screamed to him.”

“Cor, I thought I'd die when I saw that she-bitch go for him,” Fiona said, shaking her head. “Now,
Saoirse
is a worry. I'll say that and no mistake.”

“Yeah. You think?”

“Go eat something, Sarah. No sense in staying here. I'll come get you when he wakes again.”

O
utside the wind
had picked up and Sarah was reminded of how quickly the cold came to Ireland in November. She wrapped Siobhan tightly in her blanket and hurried across the courtyard to the wooden door leading to the great hall. She could smell meat roasting and a quick glance up at the sky confirmed that it was coming from the castle chimney. The dark shape of a man walked the catwalk on the front wall of the castle.

Inside the dining hall, most people were finishing up their meal. Sarah found Sophia seated next to Jill and Nuala with babies in their laps, their dinners finished.

“Sarah! How is he?” Nuala asked as Sarah came to join them.

“Sleeping for now.” She looked around the dining hall. “Where is Saoirse?”

“Gavin has someone keeping an eye on her,” Sophia said as she jostled little Maggie on her knee.

“Does anyone know what's going on outside?” Sarah asked.

“Gavin said they're setting up camp,” Sophia said. “They look like they intend to stay a while.”

Not good.

“What's our plan, do ye know, Sarah?” Nuala asked. “They can't get in, can they?”

“Sure, no,” Jill said. “That's the whole point of our being here! Of course they can't get in. Right, Sarah?”

Oh, why didn't we stay at the convent?

“I think we're safe for now,” Sarah said, not feeling at all safe. “Once Mike's better, we'll come up with a plan.”

“Shaun has been very helpful,” Nuala said, blushing slightly. “He spoke to us at dinner saying it's all under control. He has a very nice way about him.”

“Where is he?” Sarah asked, craning her neck to look around the room.

“Out on the watch towers with the men,” Sophia said. “He said we're to carry on as normal. Put the little ones to bed and do what we'd normally do.”

Yeah, what we'd normally do with a hundred cutthroat professional soldiers camped out on our doorstep.

“Does anybody know what they want?” Jill asked.

“Gavin says they likely want to take the men back to the work mines,” Sophia said.

Jill gasped and blanched at her words. Even Nuala looked solemn.

As well they might
, Sarah thought.

The last time the men were taken to the mines, the women were taken too.

“Well, they're not getting in,” Sarah said firmly. “So it doesn't matter why they're here.”

Her words sounded hollow even to her.

“Who's on kitchen duty tonight?” she asked.

“Catriona and me,” Sophia said with a sigh. She kissed little Maggie and handed her to Jill.

“I'll help you,” Sarah said, “after I take Siobhan to the nursery.”

The little group broke up with Sophia walking to the far wall of the dining hall where the kitchen was located and Sarah and the rest going back out the door to the castle interior.

How can we all behave as if nothing's going on?
Sarah thought as she stepped outside.

There is an army right outside that door! And the bullets from their guns are still embedded in the drawbridge to prove it!

She must have been holding Siobhan too tightly because the child began to cry and Sarah looked down to soothe her.

Suddenly the dark sky above them exploded into full daylight. Somebody screamed. Sarah fought against a surge of dizziness as the ground tilted beneath her.

The searing flash of the fireball slammed against the stone wall near the door they had just walked through. Showers of sparks and embers rained down on them.

“They're firing on us!” someone screamed.

“A cannon! They have a cannon!”

Sarah ran toward the archway that led to the clinic and Mike. She felt the heat from a falling remnant of another fireball sizzle past her.

Hell itself seemed to have opened up.

F
rom where Shaun stood
, it looked like a shooting star. It arced gracefully from the base of the castle until it reached its full height over the courtyard. By the time it was falling inside the castle, Shaun was racing down the stone stairwells into the interior.

Already screaming had erupted across the castle in ascending levels of anguish. Even as he ran, Shaun knew the rocket launcher—or whatever it was—couldn't hurt them as long as they stayed out of the courtyard.

Why hadn't he told everyone to stay inside?
What lunatic thinks “Behave as normal” is any kind of defensive strategy?
As he ran, he thought of Ava and wondered if she was still in the dining hall.

He reached the courtyard to see pockets of fire smoldering all over the lawn—as if the fireball had splintered into separate spheres of destruction.

Jaysus! The cow—the one animal they'd kept alive for five fecking years—the one animal they had besides the useless fecking dogs—had been hit with one of the larger chunks of fire. Its carcass lay in a smoking heap directly in front of the first gate to the portcullis.

There was nobody in the courtyard, thank God. And no bodies except for the cow. He ran into the first stairwell and into the hall.

“Everyone stay inside!” he shouted. “Do ye hear me? No one is to go into the courtyard or to the dining hall!”

One of the doors wrenched open and Ava stepped into the hall.

“Ava, lass—”